Maoyu Mao Yusha (aka Demon King and Hero)

(Reviewed on 10/14/2013)

The Learning Something
ROSSMAN

This is, strangely enough, the second anime in a row that I watched wherein the King of Demons and a White Knight Hero are the odd-couple main characters of the whole story (the other being The Devil is a Part-Timer). Maoyu Mao Yusha though (the series I'm talking about in this review, Eiiiiiiiiiiiiinstein), contrary to Part-Timer, is noooooooo comedy. Yeah, it has some light and some cute moments throughout it, but it plays like another season of Spice and Wolf; it's basically a lesson in medieval politics and economics featuring a set of supernatural lead characters, and for the most part it's pretty dry.

Not that it's bad, you jump-the-gunner (I never said that it was), but it is more of a "teachable moment" than a piece of entertainment. Like Spice and Wolf was all about the economy of a Dark Ages civilization — that we learn about because our main character is a sucker and a total noob when it comes to moneys — Maoyu is all about politics and treaties and the welfare of the masses during a Dark Ages-like period of a fantasy world where the forces of man are warring with demonic demons.

As everybody on the planet already knows (and if you don't, let me learn you, you late-to-the-party maroon), Maoyu Mao Yusha was originally created on the Japanese 2channel forum website as a weird sort-of online play. Then it gained in popularity` (I'm guessing mostly because it is so fucking bizarre and so very Japanese), became a manga-series, a series of light novels, a dessert topping, and then an anime series. It reads like a piece of satire at first glance (the hero is only called "Hero," the Demon King is a busty chick named "Demon King," with other characters taking on the names of Female Knight, Archer [not THAT Archer], Merchant, and Chief Maid), but it just uses these characters to lay the ground work for educating the masses about how a civilization at total war would react to changing treaties, new revolutionary land-cultivating techniques, and all the back-stage deals that have to go on to end a bloody world-wide conflict between two war-mongering lands while keeping allies from turning on each other as soon as deals are struck. It's actually pretty deep and very interesting, but sometimes the politics of the whole she-bang go on for a bit too long and they do take you out of the entertainment-qualities of the show, and make you go "Oh... I'm supposed to be LEARNING here. Ugh.... is there a new episode of Attack on Titan I can watch?"

Like I said though (at least I think I said it), Maoyu is not bad. The characters are all cute (except for the assholes whom you're supposed to hate; they're all ugly, weasely faced fuckers), the story is interesting enough to keep you going, there's enough magic and heroics going on to keep it from being too boring, and there are quite a bit of things to learn about slavery, potato growing, battle tactics, and how dickishly evil the medieval church is on any plane of existence in order to make you feel like you're a bit smarter after having watched the whole series... even though your IQ probably dropped 10 points after marathoning a cartoon for like 6 hours straight.

My only real issue with this show is that this season isn't the whole story. We're left with a cliffhanger that comes close to equalling Berserk's maddening end.... Okay, maybe not that bad, but I was so expecting SOME resolution to the whole tale, only to find the final episode coming around and it disappointingly building up more tension instead of relieving any, or having it answer a few lingering questions and wrapping things up with a pretty little bow on it. Nope, just an escalation to hostilities with a promise to finish it all up in a potential sequel series. Bah!

So in the end I find that I have to give Maoyu Mao Yusha 15 out of 20 Spear Points of Absolution. It was fairly light-weight, it was interesting, it had some pretty swell characters, and I learned a bit from it (which I promptly pushed out of my head to make room for Attack on Titan). If you liked Spice and Wolf I think you'll like this too, only Maoyu doesn't have an awesome end song like S&W unfortunately. Seven apple on a witch's tree-ee-ee. Wiff seven seed to prant inside of me-ee-ee...

Heroine CUPCAKE

So I found the "Devil King vs Hero Smartify You Show" enjoyable. I just wanted to start there. But I hated that no one has a fricken name. Everyone is called by their physical appearance and/or job/title. So the characters are Hero, Devil King, Female Knight, Mage, ect. But it is a decent mix of funny/quirky and educational mumbo jumbo. I'll be glad for my schooling the series provides, if I'm ever time wrapped to an alternate reality or dimension that's in a preindustrial feudal state era. Otherwise, I cannot think of a need for so thoroughly covering the socioeconomic status and inner workings of the time period.

Also, I'd like to tell both the Demon King (who's a girl btw) and Hero to man up; they are having this romantic interlude of wussy proportions through out the entire series! And then the Female Knight returns to the Hero's life and they've added a wacky/odd/somewhat awkward love triangle that puts Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere's to shame! Though Female Knight seems to have a slightly ballsier attitude, it's a year late and a bushel of wheat short to really give her the upper hand and steal her man away from Demon King... Crap. Wheat can be used as a secondary currency in a two currency system if the market allows it to be valued as highly as gold.. See! It smartifies you, whether you want it to or not!

But I say it's worth your time if you can gather your brain cells for an anime-cation! I'm ready for more so GET ON WITH IT!

CARRRRRRRRL

Really? What the fuck is wrong with Japan? Why would they take the time and money to pay hundreds of drawers to draw a cartoon about why it's important to grow potatoes during a war? This show was so stupid? I can understand making an animated show about women with giant titties running around killing people with ninja powers and shit, but why waste all that paint and carpal tunnel on a show about how to trade wheat for slaves and whatnot?

Bo-Ring. This show was boring, had no naked titties, and it tries to make you think. You've been warned.

I found it boring, and I was bored by it. If you don't like to be bored, don't watch it.